That smells good to me
Have you ever smelt the sweet fragrance of a beautiful flower or Orchid? Or maybe the beautiful aroma of an exquisite perfume. Sometimes these things quite often set off memories within us of times in our past and/or situations. This is not always the case however, sometimes these smells can simply be a pleasant sensation that we experience.
What I would like for us to focus on today is the pleasant aromas that reach the nostrils of our LORD and Saviour and our GOD. To do this we need to look at the greatest love story ever written, it is the Book in the Bible known as the Song of Solomon. In this is the love shown that is between JESUS and HIS Spouse, and as we know that Spouse is the Church, that Spouse is us. In Chapter four we see some great references to pleasing aromas, to things that smell good to our LORD, so it is a good place for us to start. In verses one to fifteen we see how the LORD sees, or at least, expects to see HIS Bride, how HE expects to see HIS Spouse.
Song of Solomon 4:1-16 MKJV Behold, you are beautiful, My love. Behold, you are beautiful; your eyes are like doves' from behind your veil; your hair is like a flock of goats that appear from Mount Gilead.
(2) Your teeth are like a flock of shorn sheep, which came up from the washing; they all are bearing twins and not one is barren among them.
(3) Your lips are like a cord of scarlet, and your speech is becoming; your temples are like a piece of pomegranate behind your veil.
Verses 1 through 3 tells us how HE sees us, HE sees us as Beautiful. In these verses HE refers to our eyes (What we watch for). We must always keep watch, that is, we must always be alert for the tricks of our enemy. An alert Christian will always be aware of the schemes of the evil one, (2 Cor 2:11 ). Then HE refers to our Hair, our Covering, which is HIM.
Next HE talks of Our Teeth, What we chew diligently upon and consume. This refers to HIS Word, something that we all must digest , even more than the food we eat. Matthew 4:4 KJV But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Then there are the twin parts, our lips and what comes out from those lips, our speech. These need little explanation except to say that whatever passes out through our lips must be pleasing to HIM.
(4) Your neck is like the tower of David built for an Armory, on which there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men.
Here in verse four we see the connection between the Head and the body, (the neck). What is interesting in this verse is that the LORD sees the Neck of HIS Spouse as an Armoury, not just any Armoury, but one that belongs to a KING such as King David, a Man after GOD's Heart. Here is an indication that the LORD expects our Connection between HIM and us (The Neck) to be a place where we can go and collect our weapons for our Warfare. This connection point is singled out as a strong place and yet one that is so beautiful to HIM. And it is from this connection point that we can not only provide for ourselves, but supply covering (Shields) to at least one thousand strong likeminded warriors.
(5) Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle, feeding among the lilies.
In verse five we then see a description of the breasts of the Church. Breasts here are an indication of the ability to feed the young. It is the responsibility of the Church to nurture the young, to raise our newborn Christians on the Milk of the Word so that they can grow and start to feed themselves on more solid food, the meat of the Word.
(6) Until when the day blows, and the shadows flee away, I will go to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense.
(7) You are all fair, My love; no blemish is in you. In verse 6 we see the point where the LORD goes away to a pleasant place, to a place of sweet fragrances and pleasing smells. In verse 7 HE tells us a most important thing about how HE sees HIS Spouse, there is no Blemish in her.
(8) Come with Me from Lebanon, My spouse; with Me from Lebanon. Look from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon, from the lions' dens, from the mountains of the leopards.
Now HE offers the invitation to HIS Bride to be with HIM where HE is, this is the same offer that we see in John 14:2-3. John 14:2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. John 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
It's interesting that the LORD gives these places as references to us. The reference to Shenir and Hermon refers to a battle found in Deut 3:1 – 22 where the LORD gave HIS People victory over the King of Og. The victors then possessed that land as the spoils of war. Also we see reference to the lion's den, a place where Daniel had victory over the Lions that he spent the night with. I wonder if the reference to the leopard is meant to be the (Antichrist) leopard of Rev 13:2. Revelation 13:2 KJV And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
(9) You have ravished My heart, My sister, My spouse; you have ravished My heart with one of your eyes, with one chain of your neck. (10) How fair is your love, My sister, My spouse! How much better is your love than wine, and the smell of your ointments than all spices! (11) Your lips, My spouse, drop like the honeycomb; honey and milk are under your tongue; and the smell of your garments is like the smell of Lebanon. (12) A locked garden is My sister, My spouse; a rock heap locked up, a fountain sealed. (13) Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; with henna and spikenard, (14) spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices; (15) a fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon.
These last 7 verses speak of fragrant things as well as parts of the bride (us). In it once more we see reference to the eyes, even just one of her eyes touches the heart of the LORD. Then we see another twist here, now it is not just the neck that is adoring to the LORD but also the chain that is around that neck. This speaks of the power and authority of the connection between the Head and the Body. Just as the chain surrounds the neck, so too does the Authority given to our LORD by HIS FATHER, surround our connection to HIM.
These fragrances mentioned here are indications of the sweet smelling aroma that comes from GOD and which is intended to go back to GOD. In Revelation 8:3 - 5 we see references to the incense upon the altar of GOD. As we all know these incenses are fragrant, pleasing to the nostrils of GOD. These are things that smell good to the LORD, these are the things we see here in these last seven verses. Revelation 8:3-5 KJV And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. (4) And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand. (5) And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake. In verse 12 of our Love story we see that this verse talks of things locked up and sealed. (12) A locked garden IS My sister, My spouse; a rock heap locked up, a fountain sealed. Whereas verses 13 and 14 talk of the things that grow within that garden.
(13) Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; with henna and spikenard, (14) spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices;
Beautiful fruits, fragrant spices and sweet smelling trees are the things that grow within this Garden but verse 12 tells us this Garden is locked up, something is stopping these sweet smelling and beautiful fragrant things from reaching the nostrils of the beloved of the Church. Within that Garden also are two other things, a heap of rocks and a fountain that has been sealed up.
The Church of today has a major job to do, it is quite possible we today may well be the last chance for the people of this world, who knows, only GOD. But we MUST do the works of GOD today AS IF THESE ARE THE LAST DAYS, simply because we don't know if there will be others who will come behind us. The heap of rocks are the rocks the LORD spoke of when HE changed Simon Peter's name from Cephas to Petra. This Rock is the revelation that JESUS is the SON of GOD. The Fountain that is within that Garden refers to the stream of living water that flows from the Throne of GOD, and is to flow out of our bellies. The Garden is the Church, (Read again that verse 12 immediately above), but the Church is all locked up.
The LORD is telling us we are to let those sweet smelling fragrancies out from within the walls of our Church, we are to give them out to the World, we are to let HIS river of living water flow out from us, not keep it it sealed up like a locked fountain that only we get to drink from. Read verse 15 again, (15) a fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon. If we are the garden, then we are to produce many more gardens, in fact we are to have them flow out from us as a fountain flows. And they are to be flowing like a river of living water, all smelling like the Fragrance of the Lebanon Forests of old.
This is what the LORD is saying to HIS Church today, we are HIS Bride and we need to let loose those things that please the Nostrils of our Heavenly FATHER GOD, we are to be a sweet smelling fragrance to HIM.
Lots of love
Don Phillips 15/09/2019